"Ecuador's voters have seemly rejected a proposal to allow the return of foreign military bases to help the South American nation combat drug cartels. Just over 60% of voters said "no" to the measure, according to a partial count with 80% of votes counted. "We respect the will of the Ecuadoran people," President Daniel Noboa said after the vote count showed the referendum was on track to fail."
"It was one of four questions posed in a referendum on Sunday. Other questions posed to voters concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would draft a new constitution. A "No" vote would be a major blow to Noboa, who was seeking popular support for his war on drugs through stricter laws and greater executive power."
"Noboa has argued that foreign bases, banned in 2008, are necessary to tackle the country's surging violence triggered by turf wars and side hustles of drug trafficking gangs. The country is struggling to defeat organized crime syndicates on its own. Noboa's government had already held talks with the United States and Brazil about the possibility of these countries stationing troops in Ecuador. Earlier in November, Noboa gave US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noema a tour of the Manta military base along Ecuador's coast."
Ecuadoran voters rejected a proposal to allow the return of foreign military bases to help combat drug cartels, with just over 60% voting "no" in a partial count with 80% tallied. President Daniel Noboa said he respected the will of the Ecuadoran people after results showed the referendum was likely to fail. The referendum included four questions: restoring foreign bases, ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers, and creating an elected body to draft a new constitution. Noboa sought bases banned in 2008 to tackle surging violence from drug gangs and had held talks with the United States and Brazil; he toured the Manta base in November. The US previously maintained a base in Manta from 1999 to 2009.
Read at www.dw.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]